High and Dry
by mmmburger
Summary: Snape finds out that Remus is a werewolf, and isn't going to keep it quiet. Not without some sort of payment anyway. Blackmail, angst and those pretty Marauders await inside RLSB RLSS slash (probably)
1. Two jumps in a week

High and Dry  
  
A fic I've been wanting to write for a while now. Marauders-centric, and containing lots of blackmail, deceit and angst- just the way I like it! And it'll probably evolve into a slash fic soon enough (all the better ^_^) Well, here's chapter one- enjoy! And remember, I don't own any of these characters. If you haven't figured that out by now, well, you should be ashamed of yourself!  
  
Chapter One  
  
Remus flopped down into his bed with a contented sigh. His first week of fifth year had just ended, and he had plans to do some serious sleeping. Being friends with Sirius and James meant homework was left until about 1am, and that was on a good night.  
He'd been lying there reading peacefully for a good half hour, when the door burst open with all the force of a small hurricane. Sirius charged through it, with James in hot pursuit. He managed to trip on the edge of the rug and sent them both sprawling to the ground. After a few moments of frantic wrestling James jumped up with a plastic spoon in his hand and a triumphant grin on his face. Sirius got himself up as well; looking dejected, and collapsed on the bed next to Remus. At the amber-eyed boy's questioning look he decided to clarify-  
"He's been chewing the bloody thing ever since we got here! I just couldn't take any more crunching noises!"  
  
"Well, I've never been to a McWhatyamacallit's... McDonalds before. It's a souvenir." Declared James, looking at the spoon in the same way a mother might look at a newly born child.  
  
"It's a fecking nuisance, that's what it is!"  
  
The spoon was flung across the room in retaliation. Then James, realising his mistake, dived after it. Unfortunately, they both ended up on the bed with Remus and in the ensuing scuffle he fell to the floor with a yell and a thump. When, after about a minute, Sirius noted that his friend hadn't got back up he scrambled across the bed, peered worriedly over the edge and started chuckling. James followed, and couldn't stop sniggering either. Remus seemed to be still sitting where he fell, but he'd retrieved his book and was reading, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he was now lying on a cold stone floor as opposed to a bed.  
The tawny-haired boy didn't see the two snickering at him for a while, but suddenly noticed the lack of argument and looked up into the grinning faces of his friends.  
  
"What?!" He asked, as if lying on the floor in the middle of what was, essentially, outright war was the most normal thing in the world to be doing.  
  
"You alright mate?" Asked Sirius in amusement. "You really don't let yourself get distracted from your work, do you?"  
  
"Well, for one, it's safer down here where I can't fall any further. And, secondly, this isn't work."  
  
He held up a slim book entitled 'Evil Within: Werewolves and Vampires amongst us'. James looked at him worriedly.  
  
"Why do you read that stuff? It can't be particularly. cheerful."  
  
He jumped off the bed and landed right on top of Lupin, who let out a noise that sounded like a punctured beach ball.  
  
"And who said it was safer down here?"  
  
He looked at the figure he was sitting on top of, and grinned.  
  
"Well at least now I can do this!"  
  
Remus grabbed the well-chewed spoon off James and threw it at Sirius- who promptly jumped on it and broke it into about a million little pieces.  
  
"Damn" Muttered James, poking at the bits with his wand. "How come we never learn any useful spells in class?"  
  
"Useful for what? Sticking your spoon back together?"  
  
"Something like that. Or possibly for some sort of painful revenge." He glared daggers in Sirius' direction  
  
"Oh cheer up. We've got to go down to dinner now."  
  
"And there'll be lots of spoons there."  
  
"Silver ones!"  
  
James brightened up considerably at this prospect. The two dark haired students headed for the door.  
  
"Hey! Wait for me!"  
  
Remus jumped up off the floor and dragged on a pair of shoes. They all charged down the stairs to the dining-hall, slamming the door so hard that Lupin's book toppled from its precarious perch on the edge of the bed and fell to the floor.  
  
The three fifth years ambled down the stairs with Peter Pettigrew - whom they'd picked up in the common room - trailing behind. The conversation topic had moved from spoons to homework. Sirius was extremely indignant about the amount they were getting.  
  
"If this is what we have after a week, imagine how much we'll have at the end of the year! It'll be unbelievable!"  
  
To emphasise his point Sirius made a wide, sweeping gesture with his arms. In doing this he managed to hit a Slytherin walking behind him square in the nose.  
  
"Sorry! Didn't mean... Oh, it's only Snivellus. Never mind then, ignore my last sentence."  
  
"You'll be sorry alright," muttered Snape to himself.  
  
"What's that Snivvy? Don't like being hit, eh. Would you rather be tripped instead?"  
  
At these words he stuck his leg out and Snape fell forward into the dining hall, where he was met with the sound of echoing laughter. Lupin made as if to help the Slytherin but hesitated. He didn't want to get on the others' wrong side. They were the first real friends... actually, the first ever friends he'd had, and he didn't want to lose them. In fact, he thought it a miracle that he wasn't the one in Snape's position. That was the way it had always been before coming to Hogwarts. Then he met Sirius, James and Peter, and had never been happier. Though he felt bad, Remus wasn't about to give up happiness for the sake of someone who, more than likely, hated his guts.  
  
Still feeling guilty, Lupin made his way over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Sirius. Snape picked himself up off the floor, made his way to the end of his table and sat down. He cast a look of pure loathing at the four Gryffindors before picking up a knife and fork and starting on the plate of mashed potato in front of him.  
  
Remus turned to his own dinner, but dropped the fork with a yelp. Sirius turned to him and hissed  
"Remus, you idiot! That's silver!"  
  
"Bit late now Siri," garbled Peter around a mouthful of chicken. Sirius pulled a face at him. James cackled.  
  
"You look exactly like a duck's ass when you do that!"  
  
Peter clapped a hand over his mouth to prevent bits of chewed meat from spraying everywhere as he began laughing even harder than James. Remus would have liked to add something to the conversation, but was too busy trying to soothe his burnt fingers. Plus, he didn't need to spend the next week listening to Sirius doing imitations of him trying to talk with his left hand stuck in his mouth.  
  
"Forget you own stuff Rem?"  
  
Lupin nodded. He usually brought his own steel cutlery to meals with him, but had forgotten it during the chaos in the dorm earlier. The rest of the meal was spent with his sleeve wrapped around his hand in an attempt to avoid touching the metal. He gingerly ate his dinner, making sure the silver didn't come into contact with his lips. He hoped no one else noticed his efforts.  
  
"Remus, whatever you're doing- Stop it. You look like a horse!"  
  
The boy sighed. So much for being inconspicuous.  
  
"Have you nothing better to do with yourself than compare your friends to animals James? And wouldn't you rather see me looking like a horse than with lips the size of bananas - which is what would happen if this thing," He waved the fork threateningly under James' nose, "touched them!"  
  
A big grin spread across the messy haired boy's face as he opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"On second thought, don't answer that!" Remus added hastily, knowing full well what the reply would be. "Are you lot finished yet? I want to go get something from the dorm."  
  
"Hold your horses, I'm not done" Said Sirius. James started cackling again. Black looked confused for a minute, then realised his terrible choice of words. Damn James and his animal comparisons. He rolled his eyes and gave his friend a whack on the head.  
  
"Idiot." He muttered, as the boy continued giggling. "Ok Moony, I'm coming. Meet up with you in a while Peter. Come up to the common room when he -" Sirius pointed at the shaking form, "stops that."  
  
The two boys started walking leisurely towards the door. As they passed the Slytherin table, however, they were stopped by a greasy haired figure who knocked a spoon into Lupin's path.  
  
"Could you get that for me?" Snape asked in a malicious tone of voice. Remus stared at the piece of silver by his feet. His heart was in his mouth. What was Snape playing at? Did he know something?!  
  
"What's the matter? It wouldn't kill you to be nice for a change."  
  
Still that same spiteful tone. Lupin turned and fled from the hall. He could hear Sirius calling after him, but didn't stop until he got to the dormitory where he collapsed, shaking, onto his bed.  
  
End chapter one.  
  
And that's the end of that chapter. What did you think? Not a lot of character development going on- I think I made James too hyperactive, and Lupin a bit melodramatic. Ah well, despite its faults I had fun writing this. I'm trying to conquer my biggest fear- Dialogue. I don't know how well I succeeded, but at least the conversation doesn't seem too stiff between them. And I promise the plot will pick up a bit in the next chapter. This was mainly intended as an introduction.  
  
Oh, and just FYI - the title of this story came from the Radiohead song 'High and Dry', which is so unbelievably related to a Remus/Sirius relationship;  
  
"Flying on your motorcycle, watching all the ground beneath you drop . You broke another mirror, You're turning into something you are not . Drying up in conversation,  
  
You will be the one who cannot talk  
  
All your insides fall to pieces,  
  
You just sit there wishing you could still make love . It's the best thing that you ever had, The best thing that you ever, ever had. . The best that you have had Is gone away"  
  
God I bawled my eyes out listening to this and reading OotP. Anyhoo, I highly recommend the song - it's fantastic!  
  
Thanks for reading!  
  
~Chowburger~ 


	2. I bet you think you're pretty clever

And here's chapter number two, faster than I thought. Thanks to my reviewers of the last chapter ^_^ This is dedicated to you.  
  
Chapter Two.  
  
Remus awoke to find Sirius sitting next to him, a look of pure concern on his face. His eyes widened as the memories of what had happened flooded back. The silver spoon, the smirk on the Slytherin's face. He remembered running back here in a state of utter confusion. He guessed the panic had tired him out. The adrenalin has worn off and he had collapsed into a dreamless sleep.  
  
"You ok mate?" Sirius asked gently. Remus jumped, he has forgotten that the other boy was there.  
  
"Yeah..Actually, no. What's going on? What just happened down there?"  
  
"I don't really know. Snape - he seemed to know...to know too much. If you get what I'm saying."  
  
Remus' frail shoulder's slumped and he let himself fall back down on the bed. There had been a few seconds where he'd hoped, wished, even prayed that it had all been a coincidence. But it was too much to ask for. His secret was out. The whole school probably knew by now. He'd be on the next train home. As he began to sink deeper into those thoughts he heard the door creak open and James' voice whisper,  
  
"Is he awake yet? Are you going to tell us what's going on?"  
  
Lupin hastily shut his eyes and pretended to sleep. He didn't want to be the one to explain what had happened.  
  
"He woke up a few minutes ago, but I think he's asleep again."  
  
A hand was waved in front of the boy's closed eyes.  
  
"Yup. Dead to the world."  
  
"Poor old horse boy." Obviously the joke still hadn't grown old. "What happened?"  
  
The bed creaked as two more figures joined Sirius beside the 'sleeping' form of Remus.  
  
"Well we'd just left you guys in the dining hall when Snivellus chucked a bit of silver at Moony here. He thinks he might know about... you know. And to be honest, I agree with him."  
  
There was a sharp intake of breath from both James and Peter. Remus tensed up - he hoped no one noticed. Awkward silence followed as everyone digested what had just been said.  
  
"Are you sure? Couldn't just be coincidence, could it?" Came Peter's hesitant voice.  
  
"No. Not the was Snape was looking at Rem. It's like he wanted revenge or something."  
  
"Who in their right mind would want revenge on Moony? He wouldn't hurt anyone... except maybe himself. But that's not really him, right. Snape's off his rocker! If he was out for revenge he'd be out for one of us, wouldn't he? We're the ones that are at him all the time, not Remus."  
  
"Maybe he figures he can get at all of us this way. Plus, it's not like any of us have a secret like Remus'. Snape's stumbled on a goldmine here. It's probably like his dream come true."  
  
"Bastard," muttered James. There were murmurs of agreement from Sirius and Peter. "I think we should go after him now, before he tells anyone..."  
  
"Don't be an idiot - if he was going to tell anyone it'll be all over the school by now."  
  
Lupin trembled at this thought.  
  
"So what should we do?"  
  
"Nothing" came a quiet voice. The three boys jumped a mile as Lupin sat up. "I don't want to cause any trouble." He said quietly, eyes downcast. Sirius' mouth dropped open.  
  
"You think you're trouble?!" He pulled the miserable boy into a loose hug. "You'd do the same for us, so don't go talking crap like that."  
  
"It's not that. If Snape's going to tell, then there's not much you can do. And if he's only suspicious, well, you lot attacking him the next time he walks around a corner isn't going to help convince him of my innocence. If anyone's going to confront him, it'll be me. In fact, I'll go now." All this was garbled rather hurriedly. But despite numerous protests Remus got up and walked out the door. As soon as he was a fair distance from Gryffindor tower he sank against the nearest wall.  
"I'm such an idiot." He muttered into his knees. "What am I going to do now? I just needed to get out of that room, I don't actually want to go looking for."  
  
"Well look what we have here." Came an all too familiar voice.  
  
"Snape."  
  
"Lupin. Or should I say werewolf."  
  
Remus' world crashed down around his ears at that last word. He hadn't even realised that he was holding out hope anymore, but he figured that he could pinpoint the exact moment it all left him.  
  
"How.. How did you find out?" The boy on the floor was dangerously close to tears.  
  
"I have my means. Anyway, that's not what's important - the thing is, I know. And I have a feeling that this bit of information could cause quite a bit of trouble if I were to spread it around."  
  
"You mean you haven't already?" Remus managed in a trembling voice. What was going on here?  
  
"Now where would be the fun in that? I'm not going to tell. Not yet anyway." Lupin looked up, even more confused.  
  
"Why?" He was sure Snape wasn't doing it to be nice.  
  
"It's more fun this way. You do as I ask, and I keep your 'condition' a secret" An icy grin crept across the Slytherin's features.  
  
The golden-eyed boy blinked up at him in surprise. What was Snape playing at? He opened his mouth to refuse, but shut it again hurriedly. What choice did he have? If Snape didn't get what he wanted, the whole world would know his secret. Given the choice between doing dirty work for the Slytherin, and having everyone he ever cared about hate him, Remus knew what he had to do.  
  
"Well?" Came an impatient voice.  
  
"Alright." Barely more than a whisper, Lupin's voice made Snape's smile spread even further.  
  
"Excellent. Now - first of all, this meeting never happened. Tell your little friends that I know nothing. That I'm still oblivious to the whole thing. Got that? And secondly, meet me here after lunch tomorrow so I can tell you what I want from you."  
  
And, with those words, Snape strode off down the corridor in what Lupin assumed was the direction of the Slytherin common room. Breathing heavily Remus stood up on shaking legs and headed off to find Sirius, Peter and James. He guessed they'd still be where he left them. When Remus wanted something done, he usually got it done, and they know better than to interfere. He was right. Opening the door to the boys' dorm he found James standing in front of the mirror ruffling up his hair, Sirius standing behind him wearing a red towel on his head - apparently doing impressions of Lily Evans swooning at the sight of James' new hairdo, and Peter sitting on his bed laughing at the two, but trying to write an essay in the meantime. They all turned around as Lupin entered the room.  
  
"What happened mate?" James asked, even his hair forgotten in his concern for Remus.  
  
"Nothing. Snape doesn't know a thing." Lupin declared, feigning relief. "My secret's safe for now."  
  
"Excellent!" shouted Sirius, punching the air triumphantly. "Let's go raid the kitchens to celebrate," he suggested enthusiastically, running for the door. Though Remus was sure he saw a suspicious look in his eye. Probably just his imagination.  
  
"Uhh, you might want to take the towel off first Siri..."  
  
End Chapter Two.  
  
Well, there you have it. Snape's an evil bastard. Well, I only have him doing what he's used to having done to him - so he doesn't consider it wrong. Empathise with him if you will, but for the purpose of this story - he's the evil one.  
  
Now, on to chapter three. I'll try to have it up in the next few days. 


	3. Don't you boy?

Sorry for the delay- here's chapter three.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
When lunchtime the next day rolled around Remus Lupin was to be found sitting under the beech tree next to the lake. He was reading a large, blue book entitled 'Irish Archaeology; Illustrated'  
  
"Hey Moony! How come you weren't at lunch?"  
  
Sirius flopped down next to him. James and Peter followed.  
  
"Actually, it's probably better that you didn't - whatever they were trying to feed us tasted like squirrel meat"  
  
"Yeah, but it looked like fish and tasted like chicken."  
  
Remus shuddered. "Nice description James. I just didn't feel like eating, so I figured I'd catch up on some reading instead."  
  
"What's the book?" Asked Sirius, peering over his shoulder. "Archaeology. Go figure. You've got weird taste in books Rem. And what in God's name is that?!" He exclaimed, pointing at a photograph of a large, pointed rock. "It looks like a dildo!"  
  
Remus rolled his eyes. "It's an Ogham Stone you idiot. Used for writing on, not for... anything else."  
  
"Admit it Rem. you're reading prehistoric porn, aren't you? You're, like, a dinophile or something!"  
  
James snickered. Even Remus couldn't help grinning.  
  
"Yeah, that's right Siri. I come down here every day to drool over pictures of phallic monuments while the rest of you eat lunch."  
  
Glancing down at his watch Lupin realised with a jolt that lunch was almost over - Damn, He had to go meet Snape.  
  
"Uhh, guys, I gotta run. I have to get something from the library."  
  
"More porn, eh? I'll come." Sirius made as if to get to his feet.  
  
"No, no. Don't bother. I'll go by myself."  
  
"Why? I could use the exercise. I'm in danger of becoming a lazy blob like Potter over there."  
  
James looked indignant, but was too busy watching Lily over by the water's edge to reply.  
  
"You'll be late for class. I'll only be a minute, don't worry."  
  
"Fine so. See you in Transfiguration." The dark haired boy plopped back down on the grass, looking mildly annoyed. Walking away, Remus felt a little guilty at having brushed Sirius off like that. But the feeling eased as he heard strains of what seemed to be a song coming from the direction of the beech tree.  
  
"Phallic monument, phallic monument, since Neolithic times.  
Phallic monument, phallic monument, you're always on my mind."  
  
Lupin grinned and shook his head. He envied Sirius' lightheartedness; he could always brush things off, and never held a grudge. James was the same - Remus had once woken up to hear the boy giggling in his sleep. If only it could be the same for himself. All Remus ever did was wake up shaking because of the nightmares that plagued him before the full moon. He was ashamed that he hadn't grown out of them yet, but they still caused him to yell out in his sleep. Every night before he went to sleep the tawny haired boy would cast a weak silencing charm on himself so as not to wake the other with his shouts.  
  
Checking the time again, Lupin quickened his pace towards the corridor where Snape would be waiting. The greasy haired youth came into view and Remus hurried on. He was greeted with a smack to the face. Hand clutching his cheek, he looked at Snape in surprise.  
  
"That's for what your friends did to me at lunch!"  
  
The word 'friends' was spat out as though it was poison. Looking closer at Snape, it seemed as though he'd had some sort of accident. Lupin knew better. Sirius, Peter and James may not have wanted to eat the food they were given, but they hadn't let it go to waste. The scowling figure's hair was full of lumps of mashed potato, and there was gravy smeared across his cheek. He looked ready to burst.  
Remus cowered into a corner as Snape advanced on him, but all that happened was that some rolls of parchment were flung at his feet, and something was growled about having them done for tomorrow - same time, same place. Lupin nodded mutely until the Slytherin stalked off. Gathering up the paper he realised that Transfiguration has started five minutes ago. Everything was stuffed into his bag as Lupin set off at a run.  
  
"Ten minutes late Mr. Lupin. I expected better of you. Ten points from Gryffindor."  
  
Remus sighed as he slid into his seat in Professor McGonnagal's class. Sirius quickly scribbled something onto a piece of parchment and slid it across the table.  
  
Where were you?  
  
In the library. I couldn't find what I was looking for. It took a whole lot longer than I thought.  
  
Sirius threw a sideways glance at Lupin as his eyes scanned the writing.  
  
..What happened to your cheek?  
  
Remus touched his tender cheek. Damn, there must be a bruise.  
  
I was trying to get a book off the shelf. It fell and walloped me across the face.  
  
Ouch _  
  
Tell me about it...  
  
You sure you're ok? You look kinda shaken.  
  
It's full moon in a couple of days. I'm just a little off, that's all.  
  
If you say so.  
  
The rest of the school day passed without incident. After dinner the four fifth-years collapsed into the couch next to the common room's fire. Sirius opened his schoolbag and stared gloomily at it's contents.  
  
"Damn. Why's I put all this off 'till now?! I'll be up all night!" He exclaimed, pulling endless rolls of parchment out of the rucksack.  
"You're a lucky git Remus - you did most of these last week."  
  
Lupin grinned, but it quickly faded as he remembered the work Snape had thrown at him. 'Looks like Sirius is going to have company' thought the boy moodily.  
  
"I did, but I reread them, and they're utter crap. I'm going to have to start most of 'em again.." Remus lied. "You're not going to be the only one pulling an all-nighter Siri."  
  
Sirius, James and Peter looked at their friend as though he'd just grown an extra head.  
  
"Crap?!" Peter choked out. "I read some of those, and they were 'O' material at least! Are you nuts or something?!"  
  
"Probably, but I just didn't like them, Ok."  
  
"But Rem, it's full moon tomorrow- you need to get rest tonight."  
  
"Quit mothering me James, I'll be grand."  
  
Remus bent over and began sorting through Snape's parchment with the questioning gazes of the other boys still on his back.  
  
After about two hours Peter stretched and announced that he was going to bed. Sirius gave him a look of pure envy before continuing his potions essay. Lupin decided that he'd start on that as well - it was a particularly nasty piece of work. The teacher had decided to give each student their own topic, so as to prevent copying. Glancing at the top of Snape's paper, Remus' heart sank to the pits of his stomach. 'Wolfsbane' was the subject - not a werewolf's favourite thing to think about. The very mention of it made Lupin's skin crawl. Exposure ot the substance made him sick for days on end. One particularly horrible incident sprang to mind - they had been studying the effects of wolfsbane in potions, and the Hufflepuffs at the table in front of Remus had been messing with a bundle of the stuff; throwing it at each other and doing impressions of werewolves writing in agony. Well, they managed to chuck it right at Lupin, and hit him full in the face. The boy had nearly collapsed on the spot. Sirius had had to practically carry him up to the hospital wing, after making some sort of weak excuse about Remus having the flu. It was actually all rather hazy in the Gryffindor's memory - he could only remember the feeling of total helplessness as Sirius helped him stand, and the pure terror that someone would figure out what had happened.  
  
'Well," thought Remus grimly, "at least I shouldn't have any trouble filling up four feet."  
  
By the time the work was finished it was gone two in the morning. James had gone upstairs over an hour ago, leaving Remus and Sirius to finish up by themselves. Sirius was currently sitting with a dazed expression on his face. His quill had stopped moving around ten minutes ago.  
  
"You finished, Siri?" Remus asked groggily.  
  
"Hn." Came the mumbled answer.  
  
Lupin had just finished the last essay, and sisn't even have the energy to drag himself up to bed. He soon lost his battle for consciousness and slumped sideways onto Sirius shoulder, where he fell into a sleep filled with dreams of greasy-haired figures throwing wolfsbane at him.  
  
End chapter three  
  
Well, there you have it. It's not great, but I've been really busy painting sets for a fashion show all week, and didn't have a lot of time for anything else. Ngyaah, please tell me I didn't just write about Remus' nightmares - I know it's a totally overused cliché, but meh, I wrote it in anyway.  
  
Hope you enjoyed! Check back soon for the next chapter. And thanks again to anyone who reviewed - sorry if I didn't send replies, but as I said, I was really busy. Rest assured that the nice reviews made my week ^_^ 


	4. Where do we go from here

Many many thanks again to all my loffly reviewers! You're great!  
  
Quick notes to the people I didn't e-mail:  
  
Mysid: You do indeed sense misunderstandings ahead - and quite possibly a certain incident involving a certain tree and a certain jealous marauder ^_- (I'm not completely sure yet though)  
  
Ninjachicks: I'm not quite sure where you came up with that. Was anyone else under the impression that Snape was in the common room at any point?  
  
Untamed: Thanks. Glad you liked my singing Sirius. I thought he was inspired (Well, not really. Me and my friends were just making fun of our archaeology book, and invented the song he was singing) (  
  
Blueberry: Enthusiastic much? *wink* Well here's the more you asked for...  
  
Chapter Four  
  
"A 'T'! What the hell is wrong with you?!"  
  
"I'm... I'm sorry..."  
  
"Not good enough, werewolf! Your secret's out!"  
  
Face began to appear in the gloom behind Snape. His fellow students' features twisted into horrible, mocking smiles as a chant rose up, beginning slowly, but growing faster and louder with each beat;  
  
Werewolf,  
Werewolf,  
Werewolf,  
WEREWOLF!  
  
Remus fell to his knees hopelessly. He tried to hide, but the scornful shapes surrounded him on all sides. Suddenly the crowd parted and three figures stepped forward. Lupin's heart leapt - here were people he could count on.  
  
"Peter, James, Siri..."  
  
His words trailed off as he saw their expressions. There was no hint of compassion, not an ounce of friendliness, barely even a sign of recognition. As Remus watched this, his heart breaking, Peter and James joined in the chanting - their voices rising above all the rest. Sirius, however, stepped forward. The tawny-haired boy was still on his knees as Sirius loomed over him, silver spoon in hand.  
  
"Let's see how you enjoy this, werewolf," He growled maliciously, bringing the metal down to strike Remus across the face.  
  
"No! Please, stop!" Remus cried out as the blow caught him in the face. He fell to the ground whimpering. The crowd began to close in...  
  
"Remus! Moony! Wake up! Please..."  
  
Jerking awake, Lupin found himself still on the couch next to Sirius, who looked as though he'd just had the fright of his life. 'Just a dream...only a dream.' Remus almost cried with relief. It had all been so real...  
  
"Thank god you woke up. You looked as though you were having a fit or something. I got really scared. I woke up a couple of minutes ago and you were asleep on my shoulder. I'd almost drifted off again when you started shaking like mad and yelling out."  
  
"Did I wake anyone?"  
  
"Other than me, I don't think so. They're all knackered out. But, more importantly, are you ok mate? What happened?"  
  
"Just a nightmare, happens all the time..."  
  
Sirius frowned. Remus realised his mistake. Damn.  
  
"All the time? But you never make a peep when you're sleeping, Rem."  
  
"It mostly happens around full moon. I just put a charm on my bed so I don't annoy you guys." He tried to sound casual, but it was proving to be difficult. He was still shaking, and so was his voice.  
  
"Moony, you idiot - why didn't you just wake us? God, if that happens to you regularly I wouldn't mind losing a few nights sleep to help stop it."  
  
"I don't want to be a bother."  
  
"I've told you before - repeatedly- you're not a bother. Promise me you won't silence yourself anymore?"  
  
Remus couldn't really think of any reply to that. At home he'd always been sent back to bed if he complained to his parents about nightmares. They just thought he ought to have gotten over them by now. People didn't need to be irritated just because of a few stupid dreams. Sirius was still waiting for a reply, but didn't get one. Remus simply smiled weakly and tried to get up to go to bed. However, the almost full moon, his hard days work, and the terror instilled by his dream were taking their toll and he fell back onto the couch, knees shaking. Sirius grinned.  
  
"Need a hand?"  
  
"Actually, yeah. That'd be a good idea."  
  
Remus put his arm around the taller boy's shoulder and allowed himself to be helped across the room and up the stairs. When they reached the dorm he sat down on Sirius' bed, which was the closest to the door.  
  
"Just hang on a sec, I've gotta run down to get my books and stuff. I'll be back before you know it."  
  
As Sirius disappeared out the door, the smaller boy considered going across to his own bed by himself, but decided he'd probably fall, break something and wake James and Peter. He lay back, and, by the time Sirius returned, was sound asleep.  
  
...  
  
"Sirius, wake up! You'll be late!"  
  
Remus awoke to see James, who'd just flung aside the curtains around Sirius' four-poster, staring at him with a bemused expression on his face.  
  
"Moony? What're you doing in Sirius' bed? And why have you got all the blankets?"  
  
With a start the boy realised he was in the same place he'd been waiting for Sirius last night, and that there were now two blankets covering him. Sirius was visible at the other end of the bed, curled into a ball, with nothing but a cloak covering his pyjama-clad form.  
  
"Siri?" Remus asked groggily.  
  
The sleeping form stirred gently. Lupin was about to call again, but James had other ideas. He went up and prodded to boy in the stomach.  
  
"Oi! Lazyass, get up!"  
  
Sirius sprung up suddenly, and glared at James through sleepy eyes.  
  
"Couldn't have been a bit more gentle, could you?" He yawned widely as he spoke, and then shivered a bit. "You ok now, Moony?"  
  
"Yeah. But why've I got all these blankets, Siri? You're freezing."  
  
"Well, you'd fallen asleep again when I came back up with the books and I didn't want to wake you again, so I just chucked a blanket over you and left you there. I went and grabbed the covers off your bed, but you started shivering so I gave you those too. Figured I'd be ok with just that," He gestured towards the cloak.  
  
"But you're not, you idiot - you're shivering now."  
  
"Well, if I'd left you the way you were, then you'd have woken up again. It's full moon tonight and, like James said yesterday, you needed sleep."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Look, it doesn't really matter. What time is it? We'd better hurry if we want to eat any breakfast."  
  
"Siri..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Sirius had brought his own books up to the dorm, but Remus' were still scattered across the table. He told the others to go on while he cleared up.  
A few minutes later, as Remus was hurrying down the corridor, Snape appeared out of a doorway and slammed the boy up against the wall.  
  
"I trust you did my prep?"  
  
"Yeah... I did..." Lupin held out his schoolbag. Snape took the rolls of parchment containing his essays and glanced through them. Returning his attention to Remus he pushed him harder against the wall.  
  
"And they'd better get a good grade!"  
  
Lupin opened his mouth to answer, but he was so worried about both Snape's work and the full moon that night that he threw up all down the Slytherin's front. Snape glared at him furiously and then, in a fit of rage, pulled Lupin's own homework from his bag and ripped it up into the smallest possible pieces he could.  
  
"Meet me again at lunch," he hissed, before stalking off.  
  
No longer being held up by Snape, Remus lost his only means of support and slumped against the wall. A few stray tears leaked from his eyes, but they were brushed away hurriedly. Calming his hitching breath somewhat, Lupin managed to gather the strength to get to his feet. Taking a last, woeful glance at the shredded paper on the floor he set off towards the North Tower for Divination. What a day this was looking to be - it had started out terribly, and could only get worse. Remus dreaded explaining his lack of homework to his teachers, and - even more so - to his friends, most of whom had watched him do it.  
  
End chapter four.  
  
Rather pointless chapter. Fluffy beginning - which I thoroughly enjoyed writing ^_^ - then I tried to move back onto the plot, but it didn't get very far. I think I'm just making the most of my opportunity for Remus torture. I'm sorry *glomps* But I got it done sooner than I expected, so I'm happy about that. Next chapter: Sirius and James get suspicious, and the lies deepen. *Suspense galore* 


	5. The words are coming out all weird

Chapter Five.  
  
Remus had been sitting under the trapdoor for about quarter of an hour when Sirius, James and Peter came ambling along the corridor.  
  
"Hey, how come you didn't come down to breakfast? You could've said something. We just went all the way back to the common room to see if you were ok"  
  
Peter's tone of voice suggested that this had required great effort on his part. He wasn't exactly the athletic type, avoiding any trips less necessary than the ones to the bathroom or to class.  
  
"Sorry guys, I just felt kinda sick. Didn't want to face food."  
  
"You still don't look great." Chimed in James, looking rather afraid that his friend would keel over any minute. His fears weren't without foundation – it had happened on numerous occasions before.  
  
"I'm grand, just a wee bit tired"  
  
"A wee bit, eh?" Sirius mimicked Remus' mild Scottish accent, a grin on his face. "So long as it's no more than that." Lupin made a face at his friend, then looked around to see that the corridor had filled up with students, most of whom were comparing essays. James straightened up from where he'd been rummaging in his bag. His homework was clasped in his hand, and there was a look of disdain on his face.  
  
"Did you guys finish your essays last night? I sorta gave up on mine a few inches from the end..."  
  
He held up the parchment so they could all see. Remus couldn't help but laugh. The writing had started off as fairly average – if not a little messy – but had grown larger and larger as it neared the bottom of the page. There, in four inch high letters, James had written 'The End'  
  
"Fantastic James," Lupin chickled. "I'm sure she'll love it."  
  
The dark-haired boy's face fell. 'She' referred to their divination professor. She took homework rather seriously, expecting it to be done properly. And in her opinion 'properly' was synonymous with 'neatly'. James' worried expression was, under the circumstances, pretty much justified.  
  
"Ack, don't depress me like that! I did what she asked for, and that's more than what most teachers get."  
  
"I suppose yours is about ten rolls long, Rem." Sirius sighed, pulling out his own scribbled essay. "Give us a look"  
  
Remus bent over his bag, trying desperately to think of a plausible excuse for his non-existent homework. After a few more moments of rummaging he stood up, with what was hopefully a confused expression on his face.  
  
"It's... not here," he said awkwardly, not really wanting to lie to his friends more. "I had it this morning." Well, that much was true. "I don't know what happened". Lies again. The other three looked at him, mouths gaping.  
  
"You, – Remus J. Lupin, Mister Perfect – you actually lost your homework?!" James looked as though someone had just declared the sky to be green. "I honestly think the world is going to end. Right at this very moment."  
  
Sirius shook his head in disbelief.  
"But I saw you with it in the common room just a while ago. How did you, of all people, manage to lose it on the way here?"  
  
"I don't know... last time I saw it was when I put it in my bag."  
  
Luckily, before there was time for anymore awkward questions to be asked, the professor arrived. 'Luckily' could have been the wrong word though, as he would have to explain about his essay again. And Professor O'Doherty was rather unforgiving, to say the very least.  
  
* * *  
  
Peter skipped the last couple of rungs of the ladder and jumped to the  
floor.  
"That went..."  
  
"Horrifically," Lupin finished. It was no exaggeration. Professor  
O'Doherty had been in a foul mood at the beginning of the lesson, and  
nothing had happened to improve it. Teacups had been broken, saucers  
smashed and tea leaves had flown through the air like snow.  
When he hadn't had the homework, she'd gone completely spare. After what  
seemed like an eternity of shouting he was 'informed' that he had  
detention the next day. To top it all off, Sirius and James had been  
quite indignant (in very loud voices) about it, and had managed to land  
themselves a detention as well.  
  
"Sorry I didn't stick up for you too." Peter looked genuinely  
apologetic. " It's just that she's bloody scary when she's in a temper."  
  
"Doesn't matter, Pete. At least you've got some common sense. All that  
their," Lupin gestured toward James and Sirius, "act of bravery  
accomplished was to land three of us a detention instead of just me."  
  
"I'm still sorry. And, if it's any consolation, I'll be stuck wandering  
the castle by myself while you lot are gone."  
  
"I'll be sure to remember that," Remus said with a grin.  
  
* * *  
  
Thankfully, there was no homework due for any other classes that morning.  
The next few hours passed fairly peacefully. When lunchtime rolled  
around, a protesting Remus was dragged down to the Great Hall and pushed  
into a seat at the Gryffindor table.  
  
"I don't care how 'not hungry' you are – you haven't eaten in, like,  
two days." Sirius said firmly, sitting down in the next seat.  
  
"And it's full moon tonight," James added in a hushed whisper. "You  
need some sort of nourishment."  
  
"I'm not sure that this can be considered nourishment," Peter  
observed, poking at the grey matter in his bowl. "What is this stuff?"  
  
"I think it's porridge, mate," James said, with a note of suspicion in  
his voice.  
  
"Whatever it is, Remmy here is going to eat it. All of it."  
  
Remus shrugged and began to pick at the food. He wasn't hungry at all.  
The approaching full moon made sure of that. There had been an ache in  
his stomach since the beginning of the last class, and it seemed to be  
growing worse. Suddenly a wave of pain hit him like a punch, and he  
doubled over in his chair. Dimly aware of his friends' worried questions  
and other people getting up to see what was wrong, Lupin managed to choke  
out the words "Hospital Wing" through clenched teeth.  
Making as if to stand, Remus faltered, but found himself being hoisted up  
by two pairs of arms. He was half carried to the hospital wing by Sirius  
and James. The elderly witch directed them to a bed just by the door,  
where he lay down. After a rapid examination Remus was given a potion to  
help numb the pain, along with an explanation that she couldn't do  
anymore, as she didn't know exactly what was wrong. The tawny-haired boy  
nodded and curled into a ball on the bed, trying to make the pain  
subside. He got some comfort from the presence of his friends on either  
side of him, even though they didn't say anything. Shutting his eyes  
tight, Remus drifted slowly off into a fitful sleep.  
  
End chapter Five.  
  
Sorry I've been so long in updating this (and now I do so with a  
particularly boring chapter). I've just been horrifically lazy. I'm  
halfway through Chpt. 6, so that should be up by next week – complete  
with a werewolf transformation.  
  
Reading back over the last few chapters, I realised that I've made James  
out to be a complete giddy idiot _ I didn't mean that to happen, so  
I'll have to rectify that in the near future.  
  
Anyhoo, I hope you like this chapter despite its lack of interesting  
events. Thanks for reading! 


End file.
